Project Groups

Project group Asia/Latin America | Project group Africa |  Project group Middle- and East-Europe

All co-workers with SRTV take part in one or two project groups. The project groups were established in 2002 and became active in 2003. They have drawn together existing contacts and are in touch with the networks in the countries concerned.
It will still take some time before an actual choice is made concerning the countries in which SRTV initiatives and projects on the ground can be supported.

Project group Asia/Latin America
The co-workers in these project groups make use of the already existing contacts in various countries. They are forming a picture of the activities in the field of prevention of trafficking in women which exist there or can be set up. At the same time they are forming a picture of the projects that offer women possibilities for work.  In this way they are discovering the projects and countries on which SRTV should concentrate.
Above all here, the added value of their contribution is of great importance; they know how to judge a project needs in the context of the country concerned.

Alongside this they work on network activities in The Netherlands, such as giving lectures, co-operating in meetings with partner organisations – in short, working to heighten awareness in The Netherlands about the problem of trafficking in women.
By degrees it became evident that the project group Asia/Latin America would be better divided up. In both parts of the world trafficking in women is a real and big problem that shows itself in very different forms. Many Latin American women are working here in prostitution and have contacts with organisations in their own countries that date back many years. One of the SRTV co-workers, herself from Latin America, will in the coming year make contact with religious and women’s organisations during a visit to several countries.

The problem in Asia is completely different. At the end of the 1980s it was Asiatic women who drew attention to the problem of trafficking in women, but in recent years many fewer of them have been trafficked to western Europe. From investigation it appeared that after the fall of the Iron Curtain it was far cheaper for traffickers to put women from eastern Europe to work. Many women lost their jobs and are almost despairing of finding a way to earn a living. They form, at this moment, the largest group of trafficked women in Europe.

Since a few months ago it seems that the number of women trafficked from Asia, specifically from Thailand,  to Western Europe seems to be growing again.

Some new SRTV co-workers in this project group, who have many contacts in Asia, will contribute to broadening our contacts. And another co-worker has gone back to India where she will act as a contact person.

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Project group Africa
The co-workers in these project groups make use of the already existing contacts in various countries. They are forming a picture of the activities in the field of prevention of trafficking in women which exist there or can be set up. At the same time they are forming a picture of the projects that offer women possibilities for work.  In this way they are discovering the projects and countries on which SRTV should concentrate.

Above all here, the added value of their contribution is of great importance; they know how to judge a project needs in the context of the country concerned.

Alongside this they work on network activities in The Netherlands, such as giving talks, co-operating in meetings with partner organisations – in short, working to heighten awareness in The Netherlands about the problem of trafficking in women.

For the project group Africa, intensive co-operation has been set up in Ghana and Cameroon.

The project group Africa has composed a letter which will be sent to people of religious conviction, bishops’ conferences and congregations in various countries in which we have contacts.

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Project group Middle- and East-Europe
The co-workers in these project groups make use of the already existing contacts in various countries. They are forming a picture of the activities in the field of prevention of trafficking in women which exist there or can be set up. At the same time they are forming a picture of the projects that offer women possibilities for work.  In this way they are discovering the projects and countries on which SRTV should concentrate.

Above all here, the added value of their contribution is of great importance; they know how to judge a project needs in the context of the country concerned.

Alongside this they work on network activities in The Netherlands, such as giving talks, co-operating in meetings with partner organisations – in short, working to heighten awareness in The Netherlands about the problem of trafficking in women.

In Mid- and East-Europe supported activities are about to get under way in collaboration with organisations with which we have existing contact, such as in the Czech Republic, Lithuania or Albania. One more target country will be chosen.

In 2003 this project group sent a letter to participants in the 1997 European Conference against trafficking in women with questions about the changes in their own countries and organisations concerning trafficking in women. Their returned questionnaires are still being discussed and analysed within SRTV.

At this moment extra attention is being given to the establishment of a co-operation link with East European countries. SRTV will choose one or two target countries where they can work actively on prevention, together with the people and organisations already operating there. The reports and contacts from visits made by Communicantes and AMA to these countries are also usable in this phase.

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